


when the stars align

by orphan_account



Series: my fics [9]
Category: HINAPIA (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/F, Humor, Idiots, Sort Of, i struggled with the alternate spellings so much, they aren't in love they're just idiots yk, this is not edited at all i apologize for any inconsistencies/plot holes/typos, why isn't that a tag on its own
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:48:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23654857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Who in their right mind went to a dangerous magical library to check out…explicitbooks?The girl pushes the form back towards her, and Minkyeung squints at the messy handwriting. Apparently, Kang Gyeongwon did.
Relationships: Kang Kyungwon | Yuha/Kim Minkyung | Roa
Series: my fics [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2007859
Comments: 1
Kudos: 18
Collections: Sprout and Blossoms - Round 1





	when the stars align

**Author's Note:**

> after months of writers' block, this fic is finally done! now i know not to sign up for four fic fests at once again- i wish i was exaggerating- and also that sticking to prompts is not my strong suit. i hope it turns out decently enough despite everything.  
> prompt: character a is a worker at the library, and character b is a secret reader of explicit romance novels, which she is embarrassed to let anyone find out about.

Minkyeung is idly scrolling through Twitter, ignoring Eunwoo’s panicked tweets about wanting a girlfriend, when the bell near the desk rings. She sighs and looks up; working at a magical library has its perks, but the constant flow of customers that need her to guide them is not one of them. “How may I help you?”

Standing in front of her is a girl who looks about her age, fiddling nervously with her sweatshirt. “Um, it’s my first time visiting this library, can you tell me where the… uh, where the romance section is?”

Minkyeung blinks. “The romance section? You don’t mean necromancy?”

The girl furrows her eyebrows. “Why would I mean necromancy? This isn’t Harry Potter.” Behind her, a book in the herb section snaps its cover shut. Minkyeung should check to make sure it hasn't eaten another book- it’ll be the third time this week, and it’s only Tuesday.

The girl has to be a witch, Minkyeung knows. Regular people can’t see the library, much less make it to her desk without being attacked by cats. She’s probably just pulling a prank on her. “It’s in the back, past the prophecies,” she says. Nobody has asked for the romance section in forever- Minkyeung doesn’t know if there are any actual books there, just that the section exists.    
“Thanks,” mutters the girl, turning to leave.

Minkyeung stands up, pulling out her emergency knife. “Wait! Don’t you want me to guide you so that you can stay safe?”

The girl frowns at her. “Why do you have a knife, first of all? Second of all, what’s going to happen to me? It’s a library.”

“But-”

“I’m not sure how you’re still hired,” the girl says curtly, heading through the shelves. The books don’t attack her, funnily enough- in fact, they quiet as she passes.

Minkyeung frowns after her for a minute, then opens her phone again.  _ I just got the weirdest customer, _ she begins to type.

-

Minkyeung is starting to think the books had eaten her after all when the bell rings again four hours later. “I’d like to check these out,” the same girl snaps, dumping a large stack of books on the desk.

Minkyeung squints at the spines. They all have vaguely suggestive titles, and the top book’s cover depicts a snake curling around a mostly-naked woman. “Are you sure that’s safe?”

She throws up her arms. “Why would it be unsafe?”

“Because- never mind,” Minkyeung sighs. “We don’t, uh- people don’t really check out books here.”  _ Because they’re dangerous and might corrupt/kill/eat you,  _ she thinks.

“Do I need a library card?” the girl asks, frowning. “This is a library, right? Not some sort of cult? Some of the books I saw looked… weird.”

Minkyeung can’t decide if the girl is a witch committed to pranking her, a regular person spelled to seem magical, or just an idiot. 

The girl adds, “I knocked over a book and it floated back up to its spot. I didn’t see any strings, but you’re not intimidating me with the magic tricks.”

She decides on idiot, sighs, and finds an empty piece of paper. Spelling her pen to write for her in neat font, Minkyeung decides to just entertain the girl. Pushing the form that she’d made up approximately one minute ago towards the girl, she says, “Just… sign your name and your birthday and agree to the terms and conditions. It’s, uh, protocol.”

The girl produces a pen and starts to write while Minkyeung pretends to check the books out the way she’s seen regular libraries do it, taking another piece of paper and writing down the titles. How long did people usually check books out for? She considers for a moment and decides 13 days should be good. It’s a lucky number and the novels looked small. Minkyeung wondered briefly why the girl had been so defensive about romance novels-  _ oh. _

Who in their right mind went to a dangerous magical library to check out…  _ explicit _ books?

The girl pushes the form back towards her, and Minkyeung squints at the messy handwriting. Apparently, Kang Gyeongwon did.

“Uh, thank you,” she says awkwardly, silently commanding her pen to write Gyeongwon’s name down on a piece of parchment. She’s never seen library cards before, but she thinks they have barcodes? Birthdays? A picture is necessary, she decides. 

The paper floats over to Minkyeung, who hands it to Gyeongwon along with the books. The other girl is picking at her nails worriedly, and frowns again when she sees the impromptu library card. “Where did you get this picture of me?”

“We have, uh,” Minkyeung says, panicking, “a 2d printer?” 

Gyeongwon stands on her tiptoes, peering over the desk. “I don’t see it. You know, you can just admit that you’re good at drawing.”

“Thanks?” she tries, baffled. “Anyway, uh. Have a nice day. I hope you enjoy your books. Wait, that wasn’t meant-”

Gyeongwon laughs, probably at Minkyeung’s sudden lack of communication skills. “See you in,” she checks the receipt, “13 days. Isn’t that an unlucky number?”

She’s gone before Minkyeung can protest. The assistant librarian stares at the space where Gyeongwon had been, shaking her head.

-

Minkyeung waits expectantly for the thirteen days to be over. She fully expects Gyeongwon to have been startled into realizing that the books are a) magical and b) unfriendly, but when she returns on the very last day possible, she looks completely unscathed- although her clothing is a bit too bright to be natural.

“Here,” she says, dropping the books unceremoniously on Minkyeung’s desk. “Do I need to sign anything?”

“No, uh, I’ll just put them back,” she says, poking the spines of the books carefully. They don’t stir, so she decides it should be safe to pick them up. 

“Cool,” she says, flicking her hair over one shoulder. “It’s in the back, right?”

Minkyeung, who hasn’t had enough coffee today, frowns. “What’s in the back?”

“You know,” says Gyeongwon, lowering her voice. “Where I was before.”

“The romance section?” Minkyeung asks a bit too loudly. “Nobody is going to execute you for reading-”

“Shh!” Gyeongwon hisses. “It’s a library.” She turns around and heads off in entirely the wrong direction. Minkyeung can’t help but laugh.

It occurs to her that she might be able to figure out how the other girl gets through the library safely if she follows her; Minkyeung needs to put the books back anyway. She stands up, leaving the desk unattended, and follows the streak of neon through the shelves.

To her credit, Gyeongwon is cautious; she doesn’t get too close to any of the books. She also doesn’t notice Minkyeung sneaking behind her or the way all the books begin to rustle ominously as soon as she passes, so maybe she’s not  _ that  _ cautious.

The romance section, where Minkyeung has never been, is calm- there’s a window seat patterned by sunlight in the corner, and all of the books seem peaceful. Gyeongwon scans the shelves before picking something seemingly at random, sitting in the window seat with a sigh.

Minkyeung  _ should  _ put the books back, but she can’t help but watch the other girl. She looks… comfortable. It’s not a look Minkyeung is used to- most of her customers are either scared out of their mind or rather shifty-looking. She flicks through the pages slowly, her eyes illuminated in the sunlight. 

Minkyeung doesn’t know how long she stands there for, but Gyeongwon looks up at some point, yelping. “What are you doing here?"

“Putting the books away,” Minkyeung says, nearly running towards the shelves and putting them back in random places.

“You looked like you’d been standing there for a while,” Gyeongwon says. “Do you want recommendations or something?”

“No! No, I’m okay,” she mutters. “Not that it’s- ugh. Thank you for uh- being our client!” She hurries towards the desk, trying to ignore the sound of Gyeongwon laughing behind her.

-

Minkyeung tries to forget her embarrassment, but it all comes rushing back when Gyeongwon drops another pile of books on her desk, slightly smaller than the first. Smiling at Minkyeung, she says, “Can I check these out?”

Hoping that Gyeongwon had forgotten about earlier, Minkyeung nods, writing down their titles. There’s something about a romance in the sands, something about satin touches, and- “This is outside of your usual genre.”

“I don’t have a usual genre,” Gyeongwon says, crossing her arms. “I can check out whatever I want.”

“I’m not saying you can’t,” she replies, trying not to offend the other girl. “I just wouldn’t have thought you’d be interested in the uses of dragon dung as a fertilizer. It’s a very specific topic.”

Gyeongwon frowns at her. “Well, it’s a joke book, right? I thought I’d show my friend Yaebin. You know, pretend she’s like dragon dung.”

Minkyeung shouldn’t be surprised at this point, but she is; surely Gyeongwon should have noticed all the magic in the library by now. “That particular book, uh- I’m not saying you can’t check it out, but it’s a bit-”

“I don’t mind if it has graphic descriptions of the digestive systems of dragons that don’t exist,” Gyeongwon says, misunderstanding Minkyeung entirely. “Are you done with the receipt? You should really get a printer.”

“Oh- here,” Minkyeung stammers, writing down a date as fast as she can. 

Gyeongwon picks up the slip of paper and looks at it, confused. “This is due in ten days. Last time, it was thirteen. Are you that excited to see me again?”

“Maybe,” says Minkyeung before she can think her words through. 

She’s rewarded by a small smile from Gyeongwon. “See you then,” she says, squinting at the librarian’s nametag. “Minkyeung.”

-

Ten days later, Minkyeung returns to her desk after reshelving some books only to find Gyeongwon talking to her new assistant. Bada looks confused, and Minkyeung can distinctly hear her saying, “Ma’am, I don’t want you to get eaten-”

Gyeongwon cuts her off, turning to Minkyeung. “I was wondering where you were. This kid keeps saying that the books are dangerous and I can’t go alone, but it’s just a library. A weird one, I guess, but…”

Minkyeung groans, slipping behind the desk. “It’s fine. Just- you can go get your books.” Gyeongwon obeys, although she looks baffled. “Sorry, Bada,” Minkyeung tells her assistant. “She’s…”

“Weird?” Bada suggests. Despite being small, squishable, and overall the friendliest person Minkyeung knows, she has a tendency towards brutal honesty. Minkyeung likes it.

“Yeah,” she sighs, “but not in a bad way. I think she just doesn’t know she’s magical.”

“How is that possible?” Bada says. “I noticed when I was seven and I set my mom’s pumpkin patch on fire by accident.”

Minkyeung laughs and ruffles the younger’s hair despite a small squeak of protest. “People are different, I guess. Just… let me handle her. Oh- and don’t look at the books she checks out.”

“Why?” asks Bada, frowning. “Do they have advanced spells in them?”

“Something like that,” Minkyeung says carefully.  _ If biology was magic.  _

Bada nods seriously, before breaking out into a smile. “You know who would be able to explain magic to her? That friend of yours who always complains on Twitter. She’s really smart.”

“Eunwoo?” Minkyeung cries, before remembering that they’re in a library. “She’s smart, yeah, but she’s not… subtle.”

Bada shrugs. “All you’d do is just tell her to keep ignoring it and blush, and that’s not going to help anyone."

If anyone else had said that, Minkyeung would hit them; Bada, however, is too cute to hit, so she just shrugs. “Maybe.” 

After a moment, she remembers something. “How do you know Eunwoo’s Twitter account?”

-

Gyeongwon returns an hour later with a small stack of books. “Here,” she says, voice unreadable. 

“I’m sorry about my assistant,” Minkyeung tries, nervous. “She’s new.”

“It’s okay,” Gyeongwon says, visibly relaxing. “Now that I think about it, why did you invest so much in making this place look creepy and magical? It’s like a theme library.”

Panicking, Minkyeung tries to come up with an answer. “I don’t know. I’m not in charge.”

“And why is the section with- my books- why is it labeled  _ Ordinary Books _ ? Is this Harry Potter or something?”

“No, no,” Minkyeung says, scouring her brain for an explanation. “It’s- we take April Fools’ very seriously. The library is decorated for the whole month.”

“It’s March.”

“Can’t hurt to be early,” she says, pushing Gyeongwon’s stack of books towards her. “Here- come back in, uh, a week. We’re out of ink, so just remember.” 

Gyeongwon raises an eyebrow, but she doesn’t seem too surprised. “I’ll see you then,” she says. Sliding a pen across the counter to Minkyeung, she adds, “This shouldn’t run out.” Before Minkyeung can say anything, the other girl is gone.

Minkyeung picks up the pen and examines it. The pen is lime green; she concludes that Bada had probably been right about her needing help and sighs for the second time today.

-

Minkyeung isn’t desperate enough to invite Eunwoo to the library a week later, but she wonders if she should have been when Gyeongwon arrives as soon as they open, tugging a girl she doesn’t recognize along with her.

The stranger collapses on the edge of the desk, dizzy. “Where… am I? Gyeongwon, why is everything blurry?"

“I just wanted to show you the library I’ve been talking about,” Gyeongwon says, shaking her friend; when she doesn’t respond, she turns to Minkyeung. “Is Yaebin okay? Can you help her? Please-”

Minkyeung stands up, putting a hand on Yaebin’s forehead. She’s burning up. Minkyeung has never seen a non-magical human enter the library before, but she’s heard stories; they’d been struck with fevers, memory loss, unconsciousness. “We have to get her out of here.”

“Is she sick?” Gyeongwon says. “She was just fine outside.”

“No time,” Minkyeung says, looping an arm under Yaebin’s and helping her up. “I’ll explain outside, okay?”

Gyeongwon looks at her for a long moment, then nods. “Okay.”

They hurry out of the library- Minkyeung wonders briefly if she’ll be in trouble for leaving her shift, but decides it doesn’t matter. Gyeongwon’s friend is in trouble.

To her credit, Gyeongwon follows her to her car and gets in without complaining, but she speaks up as soon as Minkyeung starts driving. “Where are we going?”

“My apartment,” Minkyeung says. “My roommate is good at healing spells.” 

“Healing- what?” Gyeongwon frowns, and next to her in the backseat Yaebin stirs. “Are you going to kidnap me?”

“No,” she mutters, too tired to explain. “Just- trust me for a bit more, okay?”

There’s a minute of silence, then Gyeongwon sighs. “Fine. But you owe me an explanation.”

Thankfully, Eunwoo is home; surprisingly, she has the sense to realize that something is wrong and doesn’t tease Minkyeung like she usually does. Yaebin seems a little better, but her eyes are still closed and her breathing is shallow and hoarse; Gyeongwon sets her down on Eunwoo’s bed, frowning. “Will she be okay?”

Without being asked, Minkyeung has begun to boil water for tea; Eunwoo brushes Yaebin’s bangs away from her face gently and says, “I hope so. What happened to her?”

“She just went into the library,” Gyeongwon says. “I don’t get it.”

Eunwoo pauses halfway through whispering a spell. “She’s non-magical, right? You know you can’t take your friends without magic into the library.”

Gyeongwon blinks. There’s a long, agonizing silence.

“She’s what?”

Eunwoo, misunderstanding, continues. “The library’s magic keeps out regular people. Even if she could get in without all these symptoms, the books would have eaten her or something. Do you not have magical parents or-” She pauses when she sees Minkyeung frantically signaling at her to stop. “What?”

Gyeongwon lifts her head, meeting Minkyeung’s eyes. “I have to go,” she says quietly. “Yaebin has my number. She’ll text me when she feels better.”

Without another word, she leaves the apartment. Eunwoo grimaces. “What did I do?”

“It’s a long story,” Minkyeung says, watching the door slowly close.

She stays in her room for most of the rest of the day, eating leftover chocolate and listening to Eunwoo bustling around the apartment. She knows she’d probably fucked up horribly; she should have  told Gyeongwon sooner, made Eunwoo shut up, anything. She’d just been selfish.

Yaebin wakes up around dinner, and Minkyeung hears her talking to Eunwoo through the walls. “Where am I?”

Eunwoo explains gently, and Yaebin reacts much better than her friend had. “Huh,” she says. “That explains a lot, actually. Can you teach me magic?”

“No,” Eunwoo says, before pausing. “Actually, maybe. I haven’t tried.”

“We should experiment,” Yaebin agrees; Minkyeung wonders why she’s accepting this so easily. Maybe she’s in shock. “Can I have your number?”

There’s the distinct sound of Eunwoo choking on something, and Minkyeung can’t help but laugh. 

-

Minkyeung is sitting at the desk, gazing into the distance, when someone dumps a stack of books in front of her. “These are overdue, I think,” a familiar voice says. 

Minkyeung nearly gasps. “Gyeongwon?”

“Hi,” she says. “I wanted to return the books. And- apologize, I guess. For leaving so suddenly. It was just a shock.”

Minkyeung stands up to see the other girl better, and is shocked to see that she’s smiling. “It’s okay,” she says breathlessly, “I should have told you. It’s-”

Gyeongwon shakes her head. “I should have noticed the first time I walked in to see cats and owl feathers and floating books. I just- I wanted to read my books somewhere my family wouldn’t go, so I found this library and I just wanted to have a place to myself without thinking about it too hard.”

Minkyeung understands. “I didn’t want you to leave once you found out it wasn’t a normal library. I guess neither of us were thinking clearly.”

“Oh,” says Gyeongwon. “That’s... sweet.”

They stand in silence for a moment before Gyeongwon speaks up again. “Did you know that Yaebin and your friend are going on dates? They’re supposed to be experimenting with magic too. It’s super weird.”

Minkyeung laughs. “That’s unexpected. Do you know anything about your magic yet?”

Gyeongwon shakes her head. “I talked to my parents. They said it’s a recessive gene or whatever and they didn’t tell me just in case I turned out normal. I don’t even know if I can do anything.”

“I can teach you,” she offers, shy. “I’ll probably be shit, but-”

“Sure,” says Gyeongwon, too quickly. “I’d offer to help you with something, too, but I don’t know what I can offer. I’m just a weirdo who sneaks into magical libraries to read- well.”

“Well,” says Minkyeung, laughing again, “I have an idea. Do you have any book recommendations?”   


**Author's Note:**

> find me on twitter to yell at me at @lovesimyeong- be warned that i might change the username at some point- or just yell at me in the comments below!


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